SPENCE, William W
Army
Unknown
Notts and Derby Sherwood Foresters Regiment
Enlisted in May 1916
Unknown
Born about 1898, William was the son of Thomas & Mary Spence of Staindrop. Thomas was an estate labourer in the Plantations. In 1911 William was 13 living with his father, mother & 7 siblings; Edith, Elizabeth, Norman, Thomas, Lenor, Florrie (spelt Flory in the Census) and Mary.
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Killed in Action
Unknown
Unknown
He joined the Sherwood Foresters in May 1916 & served in France. William was killed in action on 28th March, 1918 age 21.
Note added by Gail Bishop on 1 August 2017:
No source was cited cited for the above information and it has not been possible to corroborate it fully using Ancestry, cwgc.org or the Teesdale Mercury Archive.
According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, a Private William SPENCER, (Service Number 267304), with the Notts and Derby (Sherwood Foresters) Regiment, was killed on 28th March 1918 aged 21 and is commemorated at Poziers, France.
British Army Medal Rolls Index Cards include a record for a Private William SPENCE with the same service number as the above William SPENCER, also serving with the Notts and Derby Regiment. William Spence was awarded the Victory and British Medals. They also contain an Index Card for a William Spence also with the Notts and Derby but with a different service number (108537).
I have not found any other military records for a William Spence, so it has not been possible to ascertain whether the two individuals different names but the same service number are one and the same, or whether any of the three individuals above are the William Spence from Staindrop.